Abstract
Intermittent ethanol consumption changes the neuronal activity of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in rodents, which has been attributed to important participation in the development of addiction, particularly alcoholism. The OFC participates in gustatory sensory integration. However, it is unknown whether this region can encode chemosensory elements of oral ethanol administration independently of the consumption movement (orofacial motor response) when administered for the first time (naïve mice). To answer this question, we used a sedated mouse model and a temporary analysis protocol to register extracellular neuronal responses during the oral administration of ethanol. Our results show an increase in neuronal frequency (in the first 500 ms) when low (0.6, 1, and 2.1 M) and high (3.2, 4.3, and 8.6 M) concentrations of ethanol are orally administered. The modulatory effect of ethanol was observed from low and high concentrations and differed from the tastants. There was consistent neuronal activity independent of the concentration of ethanol. Our results demonstrate a sensory representation of oral ethanol stimulation in the OFC neurons of naïve mice under sedation.
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Data availability statement
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by PAPIIT IN219720 and CONACyT scholarship to Elías Perrusquia-Hernández (CVU: 958315). We thank Ranier Gutierrez, Ph.D., for the electrodes provided for these experiments.
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This study was funded by UNAM PAPIIT IN219720.
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. PMIO, PHE, AGRD, CMSE, MACD, and ZRKI performed material preparation, data collection, and analysis. PHE and PMIO wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous versions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Perrusquia-Hernández, E., Andrade-González, R.D., Cifuentes-Mendiola, S.E. et al. Chemosensory representation of first-time oral exposure to ethanol in the orbitofrontal cortex of mice. Exp Brain Res 241, 417–425 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-022-06529-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-022-06529-x